Tungsten Network

Tungsten Network is a global electronic invoicing firm that provides supply chain financing services from international offices in the United Kingdom, United States, Bulgaria, Germany, and Malaysia.[1] As a small- to medium-sized IT company, they have an estimated revenue of £31.3 million (GBP) as of July 2017.[2] Tungsten Corporation Plc (TUNG) is reported to trade regularly on the London Stock Exchange.[3] Main competitors in this arena include Tradeshift, Ariba, Basware, Taulia and iPayables.

Tungsten Network
Public
Traded asAIM: TUNG
IndustryElectronic Invoicing
Founded2000
FounderEdmund "Eddie" Truell, Danny Truell, Stefan Foryszewski, Chris Lowrie, Alain Falys and John Jermy
HeadquartersLondon, England, UK
Key people
Andrew Lemonofides, CEO
RevenueGBP £36.0 million (FY2019)
Number of employees
310 (FY2019)
Websitewww.tungsten-network.com

History

Tungsten Network "was founded [in 2013] by Edmund Truell and Danny Truell to identify and acquire a company, business or asset within the financial services sector which it can grow into a business with a significant market presence in a segment with potential for sustainable long-term cash generation, return on equity and growth." A major acquisition was OB10, a global electronic transaction service with headquarters in London, England.[4] Founded in 2000 by Stefan Foryszewski, Chris Lowrie, Alain Falys and John Jermy, Tungsten Network underwent a series of corporate expansions and acquisitions.[5] The company, led by its founder and CEO Edmund "Eddie" Truell,[6] agreed to the 2013 buyout of Open Business Exchange for £99 million (GBP) in cash and shares.[7] The purchase of DocuSphere in September 2014 significantly extended their e-invoice automation technology.[7]

Founded from Open Business Exchange, or OB10, Tungsten Network’s electronic invoicing and payment services are partnered with companies including Alliance Data, IBM, Kellogg's, General Motors, and the US Federal Government.[8][9] Nearly 80% of the suppliers Tungsten serves are small to medium-sized global business.[10]

OB10 Collaboration and Acquisition - 2000

When OB10 was founded, e-invoicing services were not permitted in a majority of the European Union.[11] However, OB10's services were launched in late 2000, followed by the establishment of offices in New York. As e-invoicing services grew, OB10 established offices in San Francisco and Atlanta in the United States, as well as Sofia, Bulgaria and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[12] Tungsten officially purchased OB10 in October 2013.[13]

Transition to Tungsten Network - 2013

Tungsten Corporation finalized the acquisition of OB10 in October 2013, rebranding the e-invoicing platform “Tungsten Network”.[14] Tungsten purchased OB10 for £99 million, as well as having signed a five-year agreement to license @UK’s Spend Analysis software.[15] Tungsten Network provides a global cloud-based trading network built on OB10’s e-invoicing platform. The service integrates client billing and accounting systems with their suppliers’ invoicing and accounting systems.[7][16]

Purchasing DocuSphere - 2014

In September 2014, Tungsten acquired DocuSphere – a US-based provider of invoice-automation services. The purchase was funded by a share placing, rather than an open offer.[17]

Tungsten of Today

In September 2019, Andrew Lemonofides took over as Chief Executive Officer of Tungsten Corporation plc from Richard Hurwitz. [18] Previously, Lemonofides served as Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at IWG, plc. He was a valued member of IWG Senior Leadership team for 7 years. Andrew has extensive experience of the technology sector, having held a number of senior roles in global technology companies for a total of 23 years. Most recently Andrew spent 13 years at Dell Corporation in various senior finance and operations roles, including COO Emerging Markets, European Commercial Operations Director and Finance Director UK LCA.

He has focused on the execution of transformational change through a detailed, systematic and customer centric approach to deliver simple and effective business models. Importantly he has also led reengineering programmes encompassing both AR and AP systems, allowing him a deep understanding of the solutions which Tungsten offers from all customer perspectives.

Products

Tungsten Network provides professional electronic services for accounts payable and accounts receivable to over 203,000 suppliers in 175 countries.[19] The company was one of the first vendors to push an “open network” concept, along with Basware.[20] Tungsten Network currently serves 72% of Fortune 500 companies and 70% of the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index (FTSE).[21] In the fall of 2017, Tungsten released its inaugural Friction Index report to showcase the amount of time that is being spent on inefficient practices.[22]

Tungsten Network

Tungsten Network is Tungsten’s core business, a worldwide buyer-supplier community that processed over £133 billion in transactions in fiscal year 2016.[21] The network processes invoices and purchase order transactions through Tungsten Network’s online portal, with the aim to reduce human touch points to deliver secure transactions.

Tungsten Network Workflow

Tungsten Network Workflow is a software suite that automates accounts payable processes and includes a document repository and reporting.[4] The suite offers end-to-end visibility of invoices from initial receipt until payment by monitoring payment processing in an ERP system and pulling back the associated payment data.

Tungsten Network Analytics

This product analyzes procurement spending based on invoice data.[23] The software provides line-level product information, analyzes campaigns, and matches prices for competing products.[24] Tungsten Network Analytics is fully compliant with US federal requirements as of April 2014.[25]

Tungsten Network Finance

As the financing arm of Tungsten’s business, Tungsten Network Finance provides early payment options. Originally launched in 2015, Tungsten Network Early Payment works by allowing suppliers to submit an electronic invoice via Tungsten Network’s digital platform in order to get paid immediately, rather than having to wait until the end of the payment term for the job. There are no credit checks or administrative delays.[26][27]

In December 2019, Tungsten Corporation plc, the global business transaction network, announced that it has entered into a new partnership agreement with Orbian Corporation, the global leading provider of supply chain finance for major companies and their entire supply chains around the world.  Orbian has been in business for over 20 years, and its annual revenues from supply chain finance exceed $100 million.

The Partnership Agreement has been concluded following a review of the Tungsten Network Finance ("TNF") business, undertaken by the Tungsten Board as part of its Operating Review, and builds upon the existing memorandum of understanding which has been in place between Tungsten and Orbian since 2016.

Tungsten will be integrating the Tungsten Network with Orbian's technology and financing platform.

Orbian was chosen after a worldwide tender process of suitable partners, undertaken by our appointed specialist M&A advisers.

Under the Partnership Agreement, Tungsten and Orbian will work together on an exclusive basis to offer supply chain finance and other trade finance solutions to Tungsten customers and other agreed targets. The Partnership Agreement will run for an initial term of five years, with a revenue share payable to Tungsten in respect of trade finance advanced pursuant to the partnership. [28]

Recognition
  • 2008: OB10 ranked as the 30th-fastest growing technology company on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 list. The company grew 3,488% during this time.[29]
  • 2008: OB10 was added to the UK Technology Fast 50 list.[29]
  • 2014: Tungsten earned its eighth Green Apple Award for best environmental practices.[30]
  • 2016: Tungsten Network was awarded the 2016 Excellence in Trade Award for the Best Financier against competing companies Basware, Inexchange, Coupa, and Invoice Sharing.[31]

References
  1. "Tungsten Corporation (TUNG)". Edison Investment Research. 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  2. "Tungsten Corporation (TUNG)". Edison Investment Research. July 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  3. "TUNG Tungsten Corporation Plc". London Stock Exchange. 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  4. "Internet Software and Services. Company Overview of Tungsten Network Limited". Bloomberg. 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  5. "Chris Lowrie, Senior Vice President-Development at Tungsten Network Ltd". Relationship Science LLC. 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  6. "Tungsten rejects founder's plan to restructure". The Telegraph. March 21, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  7. Busch, Jason (September 4, 2013). "Tungsten Agrees to OB10 Buyout, Also Combines a Bank and Analytics Capability Into IPO Candidate". Spend Matters. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  8. "Tungsten Corporation Plc (TUNG.L)". Yahoo! Finance. 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  9. "Tungsten Corp Expects Full-Year Results To Beat Market Expectations". Morningstar. May 14, 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  10. "How fintech firms are helping to revolutionise supply-chain finance". The Economist. January 12, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  11. "UK Legislation. Statutory Instruments - Electronic Communications. The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. No. 2426" (PDF). PR Newswire. 2003. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  12. Smith, Peter (October 13, 2013). "Insight from OB10 on e-invoicing implementation". Spend Matters Network. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  13. "Tungsten acquisition paying off". The Yorkshire Post. January 9, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  14. "Open Business Exchange finds host". Computer Weekly. August 2004. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  15. "OB10 Gets a New Name and New Deals". PYMNTS. May 14, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  16. "Tungsten continues to struggle". Growth Company Investor. September 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  17. Smith, Peter (September 3, 2014). "Tungsten acquires DocuSphere, raises more cash". Spend Matters Network. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  18. "New Chief Executive Officer". otp.tools.investis.com. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  19. "Tungsten Corporation PLC Full Year Financial Report". Inventis. July 25, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  20. "Everything You Thought You Knew About Taulia and Tungsten is Wrong". Spend Matters. January 16, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  21. "Tungsten Corp sees better momentum despite big loss". Proactive Investors. July 25, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  22. "What will Industry 4.0 mean for the manufacturing industry?". Stanley Chia, Global Manufacturing. November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  23. "OB10 Rebadged as Tungsten Network". Finextra. May 6, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  24. "Company Overview of Tungsten Corporation Plc". Bloomberg. 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  25. "Smith, Peter. Tungsten Analytics - "Real-time" Data Opens Up Savings Opportunities". Spend Matters. November 16, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  26. "Tungsten Network Bolsters Financing Offer". Business Wire. November 28, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  27. "Building the future with electronic invoicing". World Finance. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  28. "Partnership with Orbian Corporation". otp.tools.investis.com. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  29. "Rostrum. OB10 Ranked Number 30 Fastest Growing Technology Company on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA 2008". Stock Junction. January 19, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  30. "PayStream Briefing: Tungsten Network's Early Payment". PayStream. December 10, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  31. "Excellence Awards 2016 - Best SME Financier: Tungsten Network". TFR. August 12, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
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